Traffic signal



W. H. EBERT TRAFFIC SIGNAL July 28, 1936.

Filed May 16, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE TRAFFIC SIGNAL william H. Ebert. Kenmore. N. Y. Y Application May 16, 1934, Serial No. 725,979'

1 Claim. (Cl. 177-327) The use of motor `vehicles for both pleasure and business has become so general that trafllc is greatly congested in city'streets and on much traveled thoroughfares throughout the country. In order to control the tramo and avoid serious accidents, trafc signals are now generally employed at intersections and these signals usually embody a plurality of lamps enclosed in a suitable casing which has sides facing the intersecting traine lanes and each provided with a plurality of colored lenses, a red lens indicating that approaching tramo must halt while a green lens indicates that approaching traiiic may proceed. The lamps within the casing are generally incandescent electric lights which are automatically extinguished or lighted at predetermined intervals so thatthe lenses will be illuminated, and when a red light is showing on opposite sides of the signal casing, green lights will be showing on the intersecting opposite sides. Under present conditions, a motorist or a pedestrian, approaching an intersection after the lights have changed, cannot tell when the succeeding change will occur and, consequently, motorists and pedestrians r frequently start to cross the intersection and are caught in the intersection by the change of lights so that serious accidents are attributed to this.

condition. It is the object of my invention to provide an indicator whereby pedestrians and others approaching an intersection from either direction will be enabled to tell just how long an interval will elapse before a change in the lights occurs and may then judge whether or not to attempt to cross the intersecting traiiic lane; One embodi- 5 ment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of a tramc signal having my indicator applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section through the indicator.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section showing ,5 the gearing in plan.

Figure 4 is a detail plan view of an armature which is employed.

Figure 5 is a wiring diagram illustrating the manner in which the signal is controlled. ;0 In the drawings, the reference numeral I indicates a traic signal which may be supported in any convenient manner, as by being suspended from an arm 2 whichextends laterally from a' post planted at or near the curb or side of the i5 road. Two sides of the traie signal are shown and they are illustrated in a conventional manner as having upper red lenses 3 and lower green lenses 6, these lenses being alternately illuminated by lamps located behind them within the casing, as has been heretofore stated. 5 In carrying out the present invention, a post 5 is connected with the bottom of the traiiic signal and on the lower end of this post is secured a casing 6 which includes a bottom plate I and a top plate 8. Side plates 9 constitute vertical walls for 10 the casing and they may be formed integral with the bottom plate I by stamping from a suitable sheet metal blank. The top plate or roof 8 is provided with an internal depending flange or rim I0 to which the upper edges of the sides 9 are 1'5 secured by cap screws, bolts, rivets, or other faste'nings, and the side edges of the roof are extended beyond the flange and turned downwardly, as indicated at l l, to form eaves by which rain and other weather elements will be directed away from the sides .o f the casing. Within the casing, at an intermediate point in the height of the same, is disposed a horizontal bar or plate I2, the ends of which are secured to brackets I3, which, in turn, are secured to the side walls of the' casing, and to the underside of the plate I2 are secured depending brackets It which constitute bearings for shafts I5. Upon reference to Figure 3, more particularly, it will be noted that four shafts I5 are provided and it will beunder- 30 stood that the plate I2 may be `coextensive with the casing or may be a cruciform plate having its arms disposed above the several shafts. The shafts are mounted in the lower ends of the respective brackets I@ and each shaft is equipped with a counterweight I6, the function of which will presentlyl appear. 'I'he outer end of each shaft is extended through the adjacent side wall of the casing and upon the outer face of said wall is displayed a dial Il. The dial may be painted 40 or otherwise formed directly upon the surface' of the side wall, but I prefer to provide a separate plate upon which the dial is displayed and which is provided at its edge with an outstanding flange I8 adapted to retain a glass or lens whereby the 45 dial will be protected from the weather. As shown in Figure 1, the dial is calibrated to represent one minute or sixty seconds, and is' disposed concentric with the respective shaft, lugs I0 being formed upon the rim I8 through which fastening 50 devices may be inserted into the side wallof the casing to secure the device in place. Fitted loose'- ly upon the outer end of each shaft are marker hands 20 which are colored red and green, respecy tively,A and are set manually at proper .points v upon the dial. Secured to the outer extremity of each shaft, to rotate therewith, is a pointer or indicating handv 2| which should have a color contrasting with the red and green of the firstrnentioned hands, and` will preferably be black so that lt will be fully visible againstthe background of the dial.

Secured upon the bottom I of `the indicator casing is a frame 22 of any suitable form and upon this frame is mounted a small electric mo tor, indicated conventionally at 23. A reducing train of gearing, indicated at 24, is driven by the motor 23 'and is suitably mounted in the upper portion of the frame 22, this train of gearing terminating in a vertically disposed shaft 25, the upper end of which is formed into a. socket 26 and disposed above the frame 22, as clearly shown in Figure 2. A bracket 2'I is secured upon and rises from the frame 22 and a shelf 28 is secured upon one end of the frame, as shown, the shelf supporting electro-magnets, indicated conventionally at 29. A lever 30 is fulcrumed intermediate its ends upon the bracket 21 and, at one end, carries 'armatures 3| to cooperate with the magnets 29, said end having diverging branches 30' as shown in Fig. 4. The opposite end of the lever is formed into a fork 32 which engages in an annular groove 33, in a clutch member 34, which is splined upon a shaft 35 which has its lower end fitted in the socket 26 on the shaft 25 whereby motion is imparted to said shaft 35. Alined with the shaft 35 is an upper shaft 36 having secured thereon a clutch member 31 constructed to mate with the clutch member 34 whereby when the clutch members are engaged, the shaft 35 will impart rotation to the lshaft\36. The shaft 36 is journaled in and supported by the bottom of a gear case 38 which, in turn, may be connected with the plate'I2 so as to be suspended therefrom. Th several shafts I5 have their inner ends disposed within the gear case, as clearly shown, and journaled in the sides of the same, while secured upon the inner end of each shaft I 5 is a beveled pinion 39 meshing with a beveled gear 40 secured upon the upper end of the shaft 36.

It will be noted that numerals are placed around the several dials corresponding to the graduations thereon and these numerals are intended to mark seconds. The moving parts are so timed that the hands 2 I, which are carried by the several shafts I5 and rotate therewith, will make a complete turn around the dial in one minute, but the hands 20 are set manually and will be frictionally held in the position in which they are set, a friction washer 4I being disposed about each shaft between the inner hand 20 and the face of the dial, as will be understood. .The hands 2|! are set to indicate the period through which the respective lights will be displayed. Figure 1 showing the red hands 20 set-to indifcate a running time of eleven seconds for traffic in one direction while the green hands 20 are set to indicate a running time of eighteen seconds for traiiic in that same direction, the green hand on one side of the signal being synchronized with the red hand on the intersecting side of the signal. It will, therefore, be obvious that, if for instance, the hand 2| should be pointing to ve seconds, an observer will know that the red lights will be displayed for six seconds and the green lights will be displayed for thirteen seconds before changing. The motor 33 rotates constantly and receives current from the main feed line 42, as indicated in Figure 5, while the magnets are in series with the lights, indicated at 43, in Figure 5. It is not necessary that the l` magnets be connected with all the lights but they vare connected with the lights of the same color so that one magnet will be energizedwhile the other magnet will be deenergized. The lights are controlled by the usual control box which l.I forms a part of the traffic signal systemand, as long as one light burns, the corresponding magnet will be energized and the clutch will be closed so that the shafts I5 will be rotated. It will be noted that the shaft 25 rotates continuously and, 2( of course, the shaft 35 will rotate with the shaft 25, but the clutch member 34 may rotate within the fork 32 and consequently will not interfere with the rocking movement of the lever nor will the rocking movement of the lever affect the ro- 25 tation of the clutch member. Each time the lights change there is a momentary deenergization of both the lights and magnets so that there will be a de-energization of one magnet 29 which will permit the armature 3| to recede and the 30 clutch member 34, with the corresponding end of the lever, to rock downwardly by gravity so that the clutch will be opened, and during the fraction of a second that the clutch-is open, the counterweight I6 will return the shafts I5 to4 the zero position. 'Ihe other magnet, however, is immediately thereafter energized so that the shafts will be set in motion and the hand 2| again caused to -travel over the respective dials.

'I'he device is very simple and compact and is obviously synchronized with the lights so that its operation will always be in consonance therewith.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

An indicator for controlling traic along a lane, including a plurality of different tratlic signal lights, a dial having an index mark and adjacent said lights to be visible therewith, a hand movable across said dial, means, when operative, for rotating said hand across said dial at a constant speed, means to periodically and alternately display said signal lights for predetermined periods for the routine control of traffic. means operative with the last said means for rendering the said hand rotating means operative during each of said periods, each of said operative periods being less than the time that would be required to move said hand completely across said dial by said hand rotating means, means to restore said hand to said index mark at the end of each 'of said periods, and separate means distinctive to each of said periods to mark on said dial the final position the said hand will attain through its movement during the corresponding ot said periods.

WILLIAM H. EBERT. 

